Kings Player Grades, Crowned Royal Style: Rob Scuderi

In this series, we will post a new grade semi-daily for each player that suited up for the Kings in 2010-2011. Since no one here is a credited teacher or NHL scout, we will rate players in the way we are most qualified: by comparing them to the alcoholic beverage that best represents their play on the ice.
Your Los Angeles Kings: leading cause of alcoholism among Southern California hockey fans since 1967.

There isn’t much flash to Scuderi’s game and he seems to like it that way. He is soft spoken both on and off the ice, and just always seems to do the right thing.

Scuderi had the unfortunate assignment of playing with Jack Johnson this season. That seems harsh, but the numbers don’t lie.

If you’ll remember correctly, Scuderi was paired with Drew Doughty last season, and finished third on the team in plus/minus at +16. This season playing with Johnson, Scuderi finished as a +1, the second worst season of his career in that category.

I don’t recall seeing Scuderi running around with his head cut off in the defensive zone covering for Johnson all season long, but I also don’t recall him being as effective as Mitchell or as he was last season, and perhaps it was because he was covering for Jack most of the time.

Scuderi was a large part of the reason that the penalty kill was the team’s most successful asset this season. He led the team in overall shorthanded minutes played and was second on the team in average SH-TOI- Willie Mitchell was first. Mitchell however, missed 25 games this season and Scuderi valiantly held down the fort during his absence.

Any goaltender is lucky to play behind a player like Rob Scuderi, though he doesn’t bring much to the offensive game, he plays defense the way it is meant to be played in today’s NHL.